it had ready supplies of energy, access to the huge consumer markets of the united states, and most important of all, a large labor force. but for years, much of mexico's labor force sat idle, the result of policies that excluded job-creating foreign investment, policies followed by the governments of both xico and the unedtates. was there a solution, one that would attract investment to mexico and induce mexican workers to look for work at home? the maquiladora was one solution. border factories in which mexican workers assembled u.s.-made components for export with reduced tariffs to the american market. what did the maquiladora offer to the two sides of the border? it's a twofold process which involves both mexico opening its border originally only on an experimental basis, and creating a free trade zone which would be an incentive for foreign companies to manufacture in mexico. from the point of view of american companies, the interest was to be able to find more hospitable conditions of production, including lower wages and also fewer impositions from the point of view of environmental p